Monday, 4 February 2013

The sound of silence. And a pair of shorts

Did you have any babies or kids screaming and crying at your house this morning? No? Neither did I!

Today was Toby's first day at daycare and I had planned to only leave him there for the morning since it was pretty much his first time away from me and his dad. There were tears, and plenty of them (not from me though!) but he also played a bit and slept a lot. For three whole hours! So he stayed there until 2pm, which gave me enough time to not only sew my latest project, but also to photograph it and here I am posting it on my blog on the same day. It's amazing how much can be achieved when there are no small children around and you know you have a finite time period. It's also amazing how quiet it is without a super talkative four year old and a shouty baby, plus the noisiest and most annoying kids that live two doors away back at school too. It was lovely. And I get to do it all again tomorrow.

I've been seeing on lots of blogs people vowing to conquer some huge sewing feat or to not buy any more fabric as part of their new year resolutions. I've long since given up on such resolutions - there is just way too much pretty fabric out there for me to stop shopping and my sewing nemesis is making a pair of perfectly fitting trousers but frankly I just can't be bothered spending the time required on refining muslin after muslin to get rid of fitting issues, especially when I rarely wear pants anyway.

But every summer I do try to tackle the little sibling of the pants - the shorts. I do mostly wear skirts or dresses on a daily basis, but with two small children there's lots of sitting on the floor and climbing on play equipment at the park so sometimes a pair of shorts is just the practical thing to wear. Mostly I fail and make something I don't particularly love, so this year I went for something quick and simple. Enter Burda 6/2011 #111B:

Can't get much simpler than that can you? In fact I even left off the rear patch pockets because it already had side pockets, and my fabric was a little too busy for them to be noticeable anyway. I was heavily influenced by all the floral short shorts I've been seeing around the place lately, and dug out some fabric from deep within the stash to make these:

I did lengthen the legs by about 5cm, because Burda's idea of "short" is my idea of "too short" but overall I'm pleasantly surprised by these! A pair of floral mid thigh shorts are so far out of my comfort zone it's not funny but I actually think these look flattering despite my pasty, freckly legs as well as being comfortable and practical. I just wore them today with a simple black tshirt, but I think they could be worn with a crisp white shirt for a still casual but dressier look or perhaps I need to find a top in a complementary colour.

As I said, I managed to make these completely this morning, including tracing the pattern, cutting out the fabric and sewing it up in probably about 2 or 3 hours. They were made completely from the stash so they were practically free, plus I used a Burda mag that haven't used before. It's a win all round.

Thank you all for the lovely comments and helpful tips on the blue dress from two posts ago - I have already unpicked the hem and will re-sew it again by hand but this time with some fusible tape on the sewing line as suggested by Suziecurls and MrsMole. If I make this dress again I will definitely play around with the shapes of the back panel to get a better fitted swayback, although I had to look up the shapes you mentioned Sewing Princess - I've clearly forgotten a good chunk of my primary school education!

Awesome fabric and great shorts. I totally agree with your point about big sewing resolutions and buying fabric. (Although storage space might say otherwise, but that's what vacuum bags and IKEA are for...)

These shorts look fantastic on you! I particularly like Carolyn's suggestion of wearing them with a crisp white shirt. I agree you should make more and you've inspired me to revisit that pattern. I dismissed it when I saw the picture in the magazine, but I really like yours!

I'm too drawn to lovely fabric so while I have lots, I love the memories I have of each piece especially when I buy fabric when we're on holidays.These are a great pair of shorts. The length is perfect and the fit works well. A white shirt with these shorts would look very upmarket at any summer bbq:)

Ahh, no kids, bliss. I love those shorts! I am always searching Burda for nice short patterns. I didn't even get around to making myself a pair this summer. I think I still have time. Love that they have the zipper too! Was that part easy? How do I get this pattern?

That is sew nice! Great that Toby and big sis are both spreading their wings and exploring life, whilst giving you time to focus on yours. They are flattering shorts, and glad they are now creeping into your comfort zone. The length is perfect, Burda made them a nice dramatic beach short but these get more wear out of this length. How did you sort out the side zip and pocket? Oh and BTW when I put my little ones in crèche with a day at home I am usually so zonked I just run one of my errands and then flop down to rest. THANKS for the inspiration to add to my tiny closet. xxx from Brussels (it snowed twice yesterday)--oh this is Katharine, not my husband since he's signed in!

Oh, I was only today looking through the Burda issue with these shorts thinking I might make some, and its funny how I came across your blog, and here they are! I went to the Sydney Sewing Social this Saturday and saw your comments on some of the blogs, so decided to check yours out. It's a pity you couldn't make it, would have been nice to meet you.